An interview with Krista Kolodziejzyk, RD, MPH, MBA, Founder & CEO at Dietitian Success Center
Dietitian Success Center (DSC) is an education and resource platform designed to support registered dietitians across a wide range of practice settings and specialties. Founded by registered dietitian Krista Kolodziejzyk, DSC was created to help dietitians save time, stay up to date with evidence-based nutrition information, and feel confident in their work. Through client-ready resources, practitioner guides, and continuing education, the DSC team has supported hundreds of dietitians in their day-to-day practice. This perspective comes from years of helping dietitians navigate the tools, systems, and strategies that support effective client care across the profession.
When you're starting a private practice, there's a tempting logic to piecing together free tools. Google Calendar for scheduling. Venmo for payments. Google Forms for intake. Email for client communication.
We call this "Franken-stacking," and here's what we've learned after supporting hundreds of dietitians through Dietitian Success Center (DSC): it’s not the most efficient approach when it comes to running a scalable business.
Not because free tools are inherently bad, but because your time is worth something. And more importantly, professionalism matters. When a prospective client lands on your intake process and sees a disjointed system held together with digital duct tape, they're wondering if you actually know what you're doing with their health information.
After years of watching dietitians navigate this decision I'm going to tell you exactly why Practice Better is the EMR we recommend most to our members, how it compares to Healthie (the other popular option), and what you actually need to know before choosing a platform.
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Here's what we tell every dietitian who asks whether they should invest in an EMR or just use free tools: if there's one thing worth spending money on first, it's this.
Your EMR isn't just software. It's the foundation of how clients experience your practice. It's how you present yourself professionally. It's the system that either saves you hours every week or quietly steals them through constant platform-switching and manual workarounds.
The dietitians in our DSC community who scale fastest? Often they're not the ones with the fanciest websites or the biggest social media followings. They're the ones who set up solid systems early and spend their energy on actual revenue-generating activities — marketing, building relationships, creating content.
You can't do that if you're constantly managing the chaos of disconnected tools.
Practice Better was built specifically for health professionals, including dietitians. That means it includes the workflows dietitians actually use, not generic practice management features adapted from medical clinics or therapy practices.
Here's what you get in one HIPAA- and PIPEDA-compliant platform:
Client charting with templates — or create your own custom notes. And now there's an AI Charting Assistant add-on that automatically records, transcribes, and summarizes your sessions. This completely changes the game for charting. No more frantically typing during sessions while your client thinks you're not listening. No more trying to remember everything they said after they leave. You can fully lean into the conversation, and your notes get done accurately in a fraction of the time.
Learn more about how AI-powered charting works →
30-second client onboarding — You can set up intake forms, consent waivers, and payment collection so new clients complete everything before their first session. No more back-and-forth emails or showing up to appointments with incomplete paperwork.
Integrated scheduling and payments — Clients can book directly from your calendar, pay online, and receive automated reminders. You're not chasing payments or playing calendar Tetris via email.
Secure messaging — HIPAA-compliant communication built into the platform. Your clients aren't texting you their lab results or emailing sensitive health information.
Programs and packages — This is where Practice Better really shines for scalability. You're not limited to one-to-one sessions. You can create group programs, self-paced courses, or hybrid models that let you serve more clients without trading all your time for money.
Mobile app for both clients and practitioners — Clients can book sessions, track meals, or use the food and mood journal. Practitioners can manage schedules and accept bookings on the go. Everything syncs across devices.
That Clean Life integration — You can offer meal plans directly within Practice Better without switching platforms. (We also have an affiliate link for 20% off your first four months of That Clean Life if you want to add this.)
See how to set up That Clean Life in your Practice Better account →
Everything lives in one place. Your clients aren't hopping between platforms, and neither are you.
One question we often get from our DSC members: "Should I use Practice Better or Healthie?"
Both are solid platforms. Both integrate with billing services like Claim.MD and Office Ally if you're doing insurance work. Both offer 14-day free trials so you can test them yourself.
Here are some specific differences:
Best For: Practice Better is ideal for solo dietitians and small teams. Healthie is better suited for larger teams managing high volumes of insurance billing.
Group Programs: Practice Better offers more flexibility and customization for group programs — a huge advantage if you're planning to scale beyond one-to-one work.
Branding: Practice Better includes custom branding starting at the Plus tier ($99/month). Healthie offers branding across more of its pricing tiers.
Financial Dashboard: If you're running a large team with complex insurance billing, Healthie's financial dashboard might give you more granular reporting. For most solo and small-team dietitians, Practice Better's reporting is more than sufficient.
If you're managing a large team doing primarily insurance-based billing, Healthie might suit your workflow. If you’re operating a solo practice, the vast majority of DSC members use Practice Better.
Let's talk real numbers. At the time of writing, here's what Practice Better costs:
Most DSC members start with the Starter plan and upgrade to Professional once they hit 10 active clients. That's usually within the first few months for anyone actively marketing their practice.
Here's the thing about pricing: yes, $35/month feels like a real expense when you're just starting out. But compare that to the hours you'll spend every week managing free tools, the clients you might lose because your systems look unprofessional, or the revenue you're leaving on the table because you can't easily offer group programs or packages.
The ROI is immediate.
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One of Practice Better's biggest advantages is how fast you can get up and running. I've seen dietitians go from signup to ready-to-accept-clients in a single afternoon.
Here's the simple setup process:
That's it. You're ready to start onboarding real clients.
And if you want to skip some of the setup work, DSC partnered with Practice Better to create a **free Form and Note Bundle** you can upload directly into your account. It includes adult and pediatric intake forms, initial and follow-up chart note templates, and 24-hour and 3-day food record templates. Everything's ready to go — just download and import.
Here's what we've seen happen hundreds of times with DSC members:
A dietitian starts out Franken-stacking free tools because they're worried about expenses. They spend hours every week managing their systems — rescheduling clients via email, tracking payments in spreadsheets, reminding people to fill out intake forms, switching between platforms to check messages.
Eventually, they hit a breaking point and invest in an EMR. Usually Practice Better.
And suddenly they have 5-10 extra hours every week. Hours they can spend marketing, creating content, networking, or actually working with more clients. Their practice looks more professional. Their client experience is smoother. They can finally offer group programs or packages without drowning in administrative chaos.
That's the real value of choosing the right EMR. It's not just about convenience. It's about building a practice that can actually grow.
If you're ready to stop juggling disconnected tools and start running your practice like the professional you are, Practice Better is the platform we recommend.
You can try it free for 14 days, and if you decide it's right for you, use code DSC20 to get 20% off your first four months of any paid plan.
Don't forget to grab the free Practice Better Form and Note Bundle we created — it'll save you hours of setup time and give you professional templates from day one.
And if you want to enhance your client care with evidence-based handouts and resources, check out Dietitian Success Center. You can start with our free Starter Membership, which includes access to our community, PES statement and motivational interviewing cheat sheets, and five free client handouts.
After supporting hundreds of dietitians through building and scaling their practices, we can tell you this: the practitioners who succeed aren't the ones who wing it with free tools. They're the ones who invest in solid systems early and focus their energy on growing their business.
Practice Better makes that possible.
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An interview with Krista Kolodziejzyk, RD, MPH, MBA, Founder & CEO at Dietitian Success Center
Dietitian Success Center (DSC) is an education and resource platform designed to support registered dietitians across a wide range of practice settings and specialties. Founded by registered dietitian Krista Kolodziejzyk, DSC was created to help dietitians save time, stay up to date with evidence-based nutrition information, and feel confident in their work. Through client-ready resources, practitioner guides, and continuing education, the DSC team has supported hundreds of dietitians in their day-to-day practice. This perspective comes from years of helping dietitians navigate the tools, systems, and strategies that support effective client care across the profession.
When you're starting a private practice, there's a tempting logic to piecing together free tools. Google Calendar for scheduling. Venmo for payments. Google Forms for intake. Email for client communication.
We call this "Franken-stacking," and here's what we've learned after supporting hundreds of dietitians through Dietitian Success Center (DSC): it’s not the most efficient approach when it comes to running a scalable business.
Not because free tools are inherently bad, but because your time is worth something. And more importantly, professionalism matters. When a prospective client lands on your intake process and sees a disjointed system held together with digital duct tape, they're wondering if you actually know what you're doing with their health information.
After years of watching dietitians navigate this decision I'm going to tell you exactly why Practice Better is the EMR we recommend most to our members, how it compares to Healthie (the other popular option), and what you actually need to know before choosing a platform.
{{free-trial-simple-text}}
Here's what we tell every dietitian who asks whether they should invest in an EMR or just use free tools: if there's one thing worth spending money on first, it's this.
Your EMR isn't just software. It's the foundation of how clients experience your practice. It's how you present yourself professionally. It's the system that either saves you hours every week or quietly steals them through constant platform-switching and manual workarounds.
The dietitians in our DSC community who scale fastest? Often they're not the ones with the fanciest websites or the biggest social media followings. They're the ones who set up solid systems early and spend their energy on actual revenue-generating activities — marketing, building relationships, creating content.
You can't do that if you're constantly managing the chaos of disconnected tools.
Practice Better was built specifically for health professionals, including dietitians. That means it includes the workflows dietitians actually use, not generic practice management features adapted from medical clinics or therapy practices.
Here's what you get in one HIPAA- and PIPEDA-compliant platform:
Client charting with templates — or create your own custom notes. And now there's an AI Charting Assistant add-on that automatically records, transcribes, and summarizes your sessions. This completely changes the game for charting. No more frantically typing during sessions while your client thinks you're not listening. No more trying to remember everything they said after they leave. You can fully lean into the conversation, and your notes get done accurately in a fraction of the time.
Learn more about how AI-powered charting works →
30-second client onboarding — You can set up intake forms, consent waivers, and payment collection so new clients complete everything before their first session. No more back-and-forth emails or showing up to appointments with incomplete paperwork.
Integrated scheduling and payments — Clients can book directly from your calendar, pay online, and receive automated reminders. You're not chasing payments or playing calendar Tetris via email.
Secure messaging — HIPAA-compliant communication built into the platform. Your clients aren't texting you their lab results or emailing sensitive health information.
Programs and packages — This is where Practice Better really shines for scalability. You're not limited to one-to-one sessions. You can create group programs, self-paced courses, or hybrid models that let you serve more clients without trading all your time for money.
Mobile app for both clients and practitioners — Clients can book sessions, track meals, or use the food and mood journal. Practitioners can manage schedules and accept bookings on the go. Everything syncs across devices.
That Clean Life integration — You can offer meal plans directly within Practice Better without switching platforms. (We also have an affiliate link for 20% off your first four months of That Clean Life if you want to add this.)
See how to set up That Clean Life in your Practice Better account →
Everything lives in one place. Your clients aren't hopping between platforms, and neither are you.
One question we often get from our DSC members: "Should I use Practice Better or Healthie?"
Both are solid platforms. Both integrate with billing services like Claim.MD and Office Ally if you're doing insurance work. Both offer 14-day free trials so you can test them yourself.
Here are some specific differences:
Best For: Practice Better is ideal for solo dietitians and small teams. Healthie is better suited for larger teams managing high volumes of insurance billing.
Group Programs: Practice Better offers more flexibility and customization for group programs — a huge advantage if you're planning to scale beyond one-to-one work.
Branding: Practice Better includes custom branding starting at the Plus tier ($99/month). Healthie offers branding across more of its pricing tiers.
Financial Dashboard: If you're running a large team with complex insurance billing, Healthie's financial dashboard might give you more granular reporting. For most solo and small-team dietitians, Practice Better's reporting is more than sufficient.
If you're managing a large team doing primarily insurance-based billing, Healthie might suit your workflow. If you’re operating a solo practice, the vast majority of DSC members use Practice Better.
Let's talk real numbers. At the time of writing, here's what Practice Better costs:
Most DSC members start with the Starter plan and upgrade to Professional once they hit 10 active clients. That's usually within the first few months for anyone actively marketing their practice.
Here's the thing about pricing: yes, $35/month feels like a real expense when you're just starting out. But compare that to the hours you'll spend every week managing free tools, the clients you might lose because your systems look unprofessional, or the revenue you're leaving on the table because you can't easily offer group programs or packages.
The ROI is immediate.
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One of Practice Better's biggest advantages is how fast you can get up and running. I've seen dietitians go from signup to ready-to-accept-clients in a single afternoon.
Here's the simple setup process:
That's it. You're ready to start onboarding real clients.
And if you want to skip some of the setup work, DSC partnered with Practice Better to create a **free Form and Note Bundle** you can upload directly into your account. It includes adult and pediatric intake forms, initial and follow-up chart note templates, and 24-hour and 3-day food record templates. Everything's ready to go — just download and import.
Here's what we've seen happen hundreds of times with DSC members:
A dietitian starts out Franken-stacking free tools because they're worried about expenses. They spend hours every week managing their systems — rescheduling clients via email, tracking payments in spreadsheets, reminding people to fill out intake forms, switching between platforms to check messages.
Eventually, they hit a breaking point and invest in an EMR. Usually Practice Better.
And suddenly they have 5-10 extra hours every week. Hours they can spend marketing, creating content, networking, or actually working with more clients. Their practice looks more professional. Their client experience is smoother. They can finally offer group programs or packages without drowning in administrative chaos.
That's the real value of choosing the right EMR. It's not just about convenience. It's about building a practice that can actually grow.
If you're ready to stop juggling disconnected tools and start running your practice like the professional you are, Practice Better is the platform we recommend.
You can try it free for 14 days, and if you decide it's right for you, use code DSC20 to get 20% off your first four months of any paid plan.
Don't forget to grab the free Practice Better Form and Note Bundle we created — it'll save you hours of setup time and give you professional templates from day one.
And if you want to enhance your client care with evidence-based handouts and resources, check out Dietitian Success Center. You can start with our free Starter Membership, which includes access to our community, PES statement and motivational interviewing cheat sheets, and five free client handouts.
After supporting hundreds of dietitians through building and scaling their practices, we can tell you this: the practitioners who succeed aren't the ones who wing it with free tools. They're the ones who invest in solid systems early and focus their energy on growing their business.
Practice Better makes that possible.
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